Following the E6 along the coast in Finnmark towards Alta, we were therefore hopeful of seeing our first reindeer sighting and instigated Reindeer Watch which entailed driving slower whilst having cameras on constant standby to snap any fleeting glances. However, as the minutes turned into hours with still no sighting our enthusiasm waned...
Just as we were giving up though, we struck gold. We rounded a tight corner to see not one but a herd of approximately 10 reindeer emerging out of the woods.
We slammed on the brakes and turned into paparazzi as the herd calmly walked straight passed us! Our presence did not bother them at all and they stood by the roadside looking down it, as if to check for traffic, before walking out into the road and leisurely strolling up it the way we’d come.
However, the herds poise was shattered by the appearance of a farmer’s dog who promptly started chasing the herd barking wildly. The herd panicked and galloped up the road and around the corner in an disorderly mess – had it been just two minutes earlier, we would have been coming around that bend face to face with a mad herd of galloping Rudolphs! Luckily there was no oncoming traffic! Andy commented that now he understood why there were so many traffic signs warning of reindeer.After this first sighting of Rudolph and pals, we saw reindeer everywhere.
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